Ok this topic may have already been talked about here, but I was wondering. Ok anyone knows me knows that I float and fish the Clinch most of the time. With all the high water we are haveing, who drops anchor? and trys to fish high water on the Clinch?

I personaly have tried it, hung and lost two anchors. Not to mention almost sank the boat one time and the other I about threw some one out of the boat. IMO I think it can be done with one but on two it's just been to much **** trouble for me.

Just a thought/suggestion... consider tying a float onto your anchor line near where it is attached to your boat so you can retrieve at low water. In an emergency you can cut the line and the float is already on your line.

My friend Bill got pulled out of his boat on the Delaware River many years ago... he was stuck on bottom and had a lot of line in his boat when the boat went side-ways in the current... he could not hang on any longer so he let go of the line and was promply hauled overboard as the line was wrapped around his leg. he was lucky to survive.

I have only lost one anchor in the clinch and it was during a spilling episode, right above the jail. I dropped anchor to help net a fish, and the current wouldn't allow it to catch until it wedged in cut in one of the ledges. It **** near yanked us out of the boat. The solution was easy in a drift boat, I simply released the anchor catch and let all the rope feed out. Went back a week later and got everything back.

I would not recommend anchoring on spilling water levels or sluicing water levels. However, I have never had issues with 2 generator flows, and do it routinely when I am out on those flows.

If you are smart about it, and know the warning signs of a dangerous situation it is very easy to either cut the rope or let it slip through to avoid getting dumped.

Oh man! I sure do find tons of anchors on the river. Oddly enough; most of them are not wedged or hung up. Most of them are found in open areas with not obstructions.

I would never anchor with the river spilling. I think you could really get yourself hurt or sink your boat. I know of several flipped boat accidents already this past Winter.

I think the mushroom anchors work the best on one-two generators. Note; not in holding position but, in just slowing your drift hand letting them drag.

The forked anchors (river anchors) will always find a nice shoal to get hung on and they are easily lost.

I personally like using my chain-ball on the river in most conditions. However; I have lost one due to a pulley failure.

There is a simple technique to help retrieve stuck anchors. It involves wrapping a piece of rope around the base(bottom) of the anchor so that it can be leverage from the bottom up to reverse pull it from its stuck position. Run the tag end of the rope up the side of the anchor and feed a folded strand of the rope through the anchor top. Use some electrical tape and tape the rope around the anchor side. Make a folded knot on the initial side of the anchor mount to attach the main anchor rope.

The idea is that if you get hung; you can pull up hard and tear the tape. The rope will pull out of the anchor hole and pull tight to the bottom mounting position and allow you to retrieve the anchor from the bottom.

Also; another tip is to make an arrester in one end of the rope to act as a shock absorber in fast current. This simply involves folding your anchor rope and wrapping twine or tape around it to hold in normal use. In case of a hang; it will tear the binding and release the extra line to cushion the snag.

Here is a picture of one I made for a friend.

*Also; if you lose your anchor and need a new one-send me an email and I should be able to hook you up with a one I have found. Free of course!

So what kind of anchors do you guys use? Also do you pick your spots to drop or could you care less about ledges logs etc? Seems everytime I have droped anchor I don't stop untill I catch a ledge and its to late.
I have been to dag gum tight to but a drift boat anchor, and have always used a mushroom anchor that's 25 or 30 pounds. Is that my problem?

So what kind of anchors do you guys use? Also do you pick your spots to drop or could you care less about ledges logs etc? Seems everytime I have droped anchor I don't stop untill I catch a ledge and its to late.
I have been to dag gum tight to but a drift boat anchor, and have always used a mushroom anchor that's 25 or 30 pounds. Is that my problem?

I use a standard spiked drift boat anchor made of steel. I drop wherever I feel like it, and the easiest way to make sure an anchor catches is to back row to slow the boat when you drop. If you drop at normal current speed it makes it far more likely the anchor will skip until it is able to get a good hold, which usually means it gets hung.

One thing to keep in mind is that I would not anchor anything other than a drift boat or raft in a river. Drift boats are designed to be anchored in heavy flows and one would really have to screw up to turn one over. All the other boat types should never be anchored in heavy flows, and if it has to happen always anchor from the bow.

One aspect not mentioned is SCOPE... the amount of line you are letting out behind the boat.

The greater the scope the better on heavy flows as the angle with the bottom becomes more acute and you are less likely to be dragged under.

I have mostly used 3 blade river anchors like the one Shawn has posted and the weights have ranged from 18 to 30 pounds..... wicked expensive to replace... too bad the rubber coating is not orange.

I have found that many times in heavy flows it is best to "feel" the anchor drag (by hand) until it catches then slowly pay out line until your angle gets very acute instead of just tossing it out and hoping to catch bottom.

A couple times I have filled my tee-shirt with rocks as a temporary anchor after donating one to the river. 100 feet of 3/16 rope is cheap enough to have stowed on-board and it's very strong as I used it on my Tracker Inboard jet for years, a very heavy boat not really suitable here so I sold it.

I have ALWAYS told everyone aboard that nobody stands up until the anchor is hooked and I say it's safe... nothing worse than coming up hard on the anchor... people get tossed around and gear gets broken when they fall on it.

I strongly recommend electric winch anchor systems as they stow the line and you can still row, use an electric or an outboard while retrieving line.

BTW.... I have a big assed hammer drill if anyone wants to drill a hole through a big rock to use as an anchor!

The key factors for most of the tailwaters in E. TN are CFS Rate and the displacement amount of the boat. I usually clamp an old jumper cable claw with a rope attached to a tree branch if I am looking to hold a position. I had four-clamps left over when I wired my trolling motor mainline to my battery utilizing a nice Sears doorbusting sale on jumper cables.

Also; I use an spring loaded anchor davit I designed and built for my fishing on the Clinch. My setup utilizes a tackle and pulley design with a spring loaded cushion on one end. This acts as a shock absorber when I drag and get snagged.

I am still trying to perfect a setup for the Clinch. I have lost about 3 anchors in the past 4 years and one chain-ball. Try some of the techniques I posted earlier and see if they work for you Rod.

Also; let me know if you need another anchor and I will set it out for you or drop it off at your house the next time I visit my brother...